Washington D.C. — A new report released today by the Center for American Progress sheds light on how Congress has hindered law-enforcement efforts to prevent and investigate thefts from gun dealers. The report calls on Congress to remove an appropriations rider that prevents the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, from exercising its authority to require gun dealers to conduct a once-a-year audit of their inventories for missing guns. In April President Barack Obama indicated his support for this measure by omitting this rider from his fiscal year 2014 budget proposal to Congress.

“Legislation to expand gun background checks remains a top priority in Congress,” said CAP senior fellow Arkadi Gerney. “But another step Congress can take to help law enforcement keep guns out of the hands of criminals is removing the antipolice budget rider that contributes to the epidemic of lost and stolen guns.”

Every year tens of thousands of guns are discovered to be missing from the inventories of federally licensed gun dealers based on inspections of just 20 percent of those dealers. These missing guns—whether they are stolen, illegally sold, or misplaced due to negligent record keeping—pose serious threats to public safety. Guns stolen from dealers often end up in criminal hands.

Since 2004 Congress has imposed restrictions on ATF in its annual budget that make it especially difficult for the agency to police lost and stolen guns. One such restriction, known as the lost and stolen gun rider, prevents ATF from requiring gun dealers to conduct an annual inventory—a process that would allow dealers to promptly identify and report missing guns.

The report explores the problem of lost and stolen guns from gun dealers and how the rider plays a contributing role. The report specifically details 12 noteworthy examples of gun dealers failing to maintain control of their dangerous inventory, including:

Leroy’s Big Valley Gun Works, Glasgow, Montana: ATF conducted a compliance inspection of Leroy’s Big Valley Gun Works in 2004 and found numerous violations, including the failure to properly keep track of and record the disposition of approximately 1,200 guns from its inventory. ATF commenced proceedings to revoke the store’s license, and Leroy’s admitted to the charged violations and entered into a settlement agreement revoking its license.

The report’s authors, Arkadi Gerney and Chelsea Parsons, argue that ATF should have the authority to require federally licensed gun dealers to regularly reconcile their inventory with their acquisition and disposition records to ensure that all guns are accounted for and that all missing guns are promptly reported to law enforcement. Congress should act this year to remove the appropriations rider that prevents ATF from exercising this authority.